The location of Qingzhu Village, across the road, was where Chen Jiuyang's grandparents lived more than ten years ago. They received a large compensation for demolition and used the money to buy a house in Fengcheng City.
The land in Qingzhu Village was allocated per capita. Chen Jianmin's land was half occupied. Chen Jiuyang's grandparents gave Chen Jianmin over a hundred thousand yuan for him to work as a contractor. Chen Jianmin also had a younger brother who moved to Fengcheng to attend university, which was quite unfair to Chen Jianmin.
Because of this, Chen Jiuyang's family and his grandparents' family had very little contact for over a decade.
Zhang Xiuzhen had only visited twice in over ten years. The first time was shortly after they bought the house, to pay a visit during the housewarming. The second time was half a year ago, when she came to borrow money.
Chen Jiuyang carried milk in his left hand and eggs in his right. Chen Jianmin arrived at the door and knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A young man's impatient voice came from inside the house: "Who is it?"
"Is that Xiaobo?" Chen Jianmin called out with a smile, "I'm your eldest uncle, Chen Jianmin."
Chen Xiaobo was the son of Chen Jianmin's younger brother. Chen Jiuyang had only met him once when they were children.
"Eldest uncle?" Chen Xiaobo was stunned inside the house. Then he opened the door and saw Chen Jiuyang's family. His expression was somewhat surprised: "Eldest uncle, weren't you in prison? You're out so soon?"
Chen Xiaobo had dyed yellow hair, an earring, and three tattoos on his bare arm. With a cigarette dangling from his hand, he looked like a hooligan.
Chen Jianmin smiled and offered a cigarette: "It was a wrongful imprisonment. Once the investigation was clear, I was released."
Chen Xiaobo smoked Zhonghua cigarettes. Seeing that Chen Jianmin was offering him Yunyan cigarettes, which cost ten yuan a pack, he didn't even take one. He just said, "Oh," and then, "Come in."
Looking at the eggs and milk in Chen Jiuyang's hands, Chen Xiaobo didn't even offer them slippers. He turned back to the sofa, picked up his phone, and started playing online mahjong, shouting into the house, "Grandma, eldest uncle's family is here."
Chen Yating frowned, reluctant to enter the house. She only went in after Chen Jiuyang had already walked in.
A moment later, an old woman with white hair came out. Seeing Chen Jianmin's family arrive, her reaction was very indifferent: "If you're here, find a place to sit yourselves."
Zhang Xiuzhen forced a smile and called out, "Mom."
The old woman acted as if she were hard of hearing and didn't respond. She turned around, poured herself a glass of hot water, and sat on the sofa.
Seeing this scene, Chen Jiuyang's brow furrowed slightly.
"Mom, I've been released from prison, and I've come specifically to see how you and Dad are doing today," Chen Jianmin said with a smile. "Jiuyang, put the things down. Yating, hurry up and greet Grandma."
"Grandma," Chen Yating called out reluctantly.
"Mm," the old woman responded, indifferently. "That's a good greeting. You haven't visited me in over ten years. If you hadn't come today, I really wouldn't have known I had such a granddaughter."
Chen Yating's face darkened: "Then we've been in Qingzhu Village for over ten years, why haven't we seen you come back once?"
"Yating, be quiet!" Chen Jianmin reprimanded her, but with a smile on his face. "Mom, the child is young and doesn't understand. Please don't take it to heart."
"Does it matter if I take it to heart?" the old woman said with a sour expression. "Alright, speak. What brings you here today?"
Chen Jianmin said, "Mom, I've already said, I've been released from prison and have come specifically to see how you and Dad are doing."
The old woman replied, "My and your father's health is fine. But if you're here to borrow money, then our health won't be good."
"What? Borrow money?" Chen Xiaobo's ears perked up. He immediately put down his phone and said grumpily, "Our family is dirt poor, where would we get money to lend to you? If you want to borrow money, leave quickly."
These words from the old woman and Chen Xiaobo immediately made Zhang Xiuzhen's face turn very displeased.
Chen Jiuyang also felt a chill in his heart, his expression changing from calm to slightly grim.
Even the smile on Chen Jianmin's face became a bit stiff: "Mom, we didn't come to borrow money."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobo lowered his head and went back to playing on his phone.
The old woman picked up her water cup and took a sip. "That's good then. Old man, your son is here. Stop playing cards and come out to see him."
This caused a surge of anger in Chen Jianmin's family. It meant that if they had come to borrow money, Chen Jiuyang's grandfather wouldn't have even come out to show his face.
To only come out to meet them after hearing they weren't there to borrow money, how disheartening was that?
"I'm coming."
An old man's voice came from the bedroom, and then an old man wearing a tank top walked out.
"Dad," Chen Jianmin and Zhang Xiuzhen called out. Chen Jiuyang and Chen Yating echoed with "Grandpa."
The old man nodded with a smile and also sat on the sofa. "Jianmin, when were you released?"
Chen Jianmin replied, "I was released just these past couple of days."
The old man said, "No wonder I didn't see you at the funeral of Old Secretary Huang a few days ago. So you weren't released then."
Hmm? Chen Jiuyang frowned. He went to Old Secretary Huang's funeral?
This meant that after returning to Qingzhu Village, he hadn't visited their family.
What was this supposed to mean? It was truly disgusting.
The old man continued, "I see construction digging foundations next to your house. What's going on?"
Chen Jianmin smiled and said, "Jiuyang has money and is planning to build a new house."
The old man and the old woman's eyes lit up. The old man asked, "Where did the money come from?"
Before Chen Jianmin could speak, Chen Jiuyang quickly said, "My dad was wrongfully imprisoned, and the Six Doors compensated our family with some money. I went to collect it on my dad's behalf."
"Oh, I see," the old man said with a smile. "Then the Six Doors must have compensated quite a lot of money. I heard your family is spending tens of millions to build that house. I thought they were joking, but now it seems it's true."
Chen Jiuyang frowned slightly and smiled, "Where would our family get so much money? Those are people from the county who believe in the mountain god and specifically came to build a house next to our place."
At this moment, the old woman noticed the jade pendant hanging around Chen Yating's neck, and her eyes widened: "This jade pendant of yours looks like it's a jadeite ice seed. This could buy a house in Fengcheng."
"Ah?" Zhang Xiuzhen and Chen Yating were also stunned. Chen Yating's jade pendant was a gift from Yao Zixuan when she visited. Neither mother nor daughter understood if this thing was expensive or not.
To be able to buy a house in Fengcheng, wouldn't it cost over a million?
Chen Jiuyang laughed heartily, "Grandma, this is a street stall item. I bought it as a reward for Yating when she got into university. I bought it at a flea market."
"Is that so?" the old woman stared at Chen Yating's jade pendant, her gaze unwilling to leave, trying to discern if it was real or fake.
At this moment, the old man looked at the watch on Chen Jianmin's hand: "This watch of yours must be worth tens of thousands."
"Don't try to fob me off with talk of 'fake goods'."
"Your brother has been wearing this watch for many years. I can tell if it's fake or real at a glance."
At this point, Chen Jiuyang was in an awkward position, unable to find a suitable excuse.